Mitchell sees Korean fight postponed

Batley mixed martial arts fighter Danny Mitchell heads to South Korea this summer looking to extend his unbeaten record to five bouts.

Mitchell, 26, was due to face American Ben Lagman in the M-1 Korea: Monster War event at the Kintex Exhibition Centre, Seoul this weekend, but the bout has now been put back until Saturday, August 17.

The Batley bruiser nicknamed “The Cheesecake Assassin”, who coaches at the AVT team on Bradford Road, recently earned his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, the highest common belt in the sport.

And he is in fine form, dispatching Lee Livesly after just 12 seconds of the first round at his last fight in August 2012 to take his record to 12-3-1.

Lagman, by contrast, was beaten by Sam Quito in January, and the 6ft2in American will be looking to get back to winning ways in Korea.

KINTEX, who are hosting the Monster War show, announced the delay last Wednesday, stating that due to “large fluctuations in the matches” they were to reschedule the card for August.

Mitchell and clubmate Jay Furness will now travel to Kansas this month with fellow AVT fighter James Saville, who faces American superstar LC Davis at Global Warrior Challenge’s “British Invasion” on Saturday, June 29.

Furness, who clinched the British featherweight title in March with a first-round win over Phil Else, is optimistic that Saville can shock Davis.

He said: “It will make a big statement if he wins and puts him in line for the big shows.

“Davis used to fight in WEC and is now in UFC, with a big win streak against some of the best guys in the world.”

Furness is also hoping to be part of a new round of MMA shows run by promoter Bellator, following his impressive showing at trials last month.

The American company is planning to televise three events on UK network VIVA.

Elsewhere, AVT’s Gaz Firm will turn pro next month after winning his final amateur bout in Japan last weekend.

Firm will fight at the Doncaster Dome on Saturday, July 20 at CSFC 5.

Fellow AVT amateurs Adam Garside and Tom Crosby will also be targeting professional careers after winning gold at the UK MMA National Open earlier this month.

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